Of Course I'm Alive
by DraconicFlames
Summary: Doranbolt is dying inside. His best friend is gone... or is he? Alternate story of how there is hope for our favorite duo. Rated T because I'm paranoid.


**Hey guys! Another Lahar and Doranbolt one-shot coming at ya! My best friend, also known as AuthoressThroughTime, helped inspire this one. You guys should totally check her out! Anyway, hope you all enjoy!**

 **Disclaimer: Negotiations were not successful, so I still don't own Fairy Tail. (Sigh)**

* * *

 **Of Course I'm Alive**

"Excuse me, where is Lahar?" I asked a healer who was in charge of burying the bodies while I went to have a "chat" with Cobra.

"Last time I saw him, he was over there" the healer replied, pointing in the direction of the graveyard. He seemed to have said it absent mindedly, as if Lahar was not the main concern right now. This, in turn, made me upset, but I let it slide. These people did not know Lahar as I did.

"Thank you". I headed for the white cross in the direction that he seemed to be pointing. Once I got there, I fell to my hands and knees and wept.

"I-I'm so sorry Lahar. I could not save you. I could not save anyone. I failed you, the Council, the guilds, and all of Fiore. I'm a sorry excuse for a wizard". I took the broken pair of glasses out of my pocket and placed them on top of the mound. I did not think it was possible, but the tears were falling with even more intensity now. At this point, people nearby were giving me looks of sympathy, confusion and… was that amusement?! I shot up and furiously shoved past anyone in my way as I left the Era building. How dare they find anything about this situation amusing! The Council has been killed, Lahar is dead and all of Fiore is probably panicking right now because Tartaros is still out there! Ugh!

'I need a break from everyone. Heck, I need a break from the world right now' I thought to myself. I then went straight to the local bar to forget about everything that had happened. That was the last thing I remembered, before my memory turned into a blur.

* * *

I opened my eyes but shut them again quickly. It was excessively bright in here, wherever here is. Not to mention I have a blazing headache. 'Ugh, hangover' I mentally groaned. I opened my eyes again and saw that I was in my bedroom. I guess someone dragged me home last night. I vaguely remembered what happened last night… but I knew it could not be true. It had started like any other night I had too much to drink.

* * *

 _I desperately wanted to forget what had happened earlier and tried to drink as much as I could as fast as I could. That did not go over well. Within the next fifteen minutes, I was picking a fight with everyone in the bar; using an empty beer cup of course. Then when I tried to swing at someone while they were down, a wall of purple enchantments stopped me._

" _Come on Doranbolt. I thought you were better than that. Now that I finally found you we can go back ho-" the dark haired man did not get to finish because I had slammed my beer cup into the side of his face. I thought I saw a pair of glasses fly off, but the memory was too hazy to tell._

" _I'm not going anywhere with you!" I managed to slur out. I was going to hit the man again when another wall of enchantments stopped me. To make matters worse, I was starting pass out from all the alcohol I had consumed. My knees decided that now was a great time to go on vacation and ceased to function and I fell to the floor with a resounding thud; however, before I fully became unconscious, I saw a Rune Knight come in and say something to the dark haired man who I realized was also a Rune Knight._

" _When you are done, we could really use your help back at Era, Lahar". Wait. Lahar?! It could not be. I did not find out if it could or not because that is when I fell unconscious._

* * *

I put my head in my hands and groaned. 'I must be going crazy. No way was Lahar there; he died yesterday in the explosion. It must have been some other Rune Knight who came' I thought. Then I remembered that the second Rune Knight said they needed help at the Era building, at least what is left of it anyway. They probably figured whatever the issue was out since last night… still… I should go check to make sure everything is okay. I got up, changed out of my torn white Rune Knight uniform, and instead dawned a darker colored one after taking a shower. I was about to leave my room when I saw a flash of light come from my desk. I went over to inspect. I found that the light was only a reflection off a pair of glasses that smelled like beer resting on the desk. 'Oh it's just glasses. Nothing serious. I must be parano- wait! Glasses? I don't wear glasses!' I heard footsteps behind me and turned to face the intruder. What I saw however, was the most shocking thing I have ever seen in my entire life. Standing in the doorway was a man in a Rune Knight uniform. He had dark hair, glasses, purple eyes, and was wearing a fabulous cape. This is the same man who was at the bar last night. The same man who died in the explosion. The same man who was my best friend. Lahar.

"You just had to be punching people with beer again, didn't you" Lahar, scolded while holding a piece of ice to his face.

"I-I… I don't… WHAT?!" I screamed. I'm pretty sure my head is exploding right now. How is he alive?!

"Ow! Keep your voice down would you. I have a headache thanks to the explosion, not to mention you whacked me upside the head with beer. Please don't make it any worse."

"Wait, so you were at the bar? And you were in the explosion?"

"Yes on both questions, but shouldn't you know that already? You were with me both times."

"W-well yeah, but…" I couldn't finish. I let go of my emotions and let them run free. Tears were pouring down my face and I started shaking.

"Doranbolt? Are you alri-oof" he couldn't continue because I had already assaulted him with a hug that put any others before it to shame.

"I-I thought y-you were d-dead. But y-your alive" I managed to say between sobs. Realization dawned on Lahar and he embraced me back.

"Of course I'm alive. I didn't die in explosion," he said in a comforting and gentle manor, but then a smirk appeared. "It is the explosion you're talking about right? Because if you honestly think you can take me out with a cup of beer, you got another thing coming." I chuckled. If felt good to have him back. Although apparently he was never gone.

"Speaking of which," I said while removing myself from Lahar embrace. "How did you survive? Last time I saw you, you were unresponsive on the floor after the first explosion."

"Ohhh right. I guess you do need an explanation." This earned him a sarcastic eye roll but I let him continue. "Well, when you were shaking me and calling my name, I actually was conscious; but, for some reason I couldn't move. It felt like I was in a hazy dream. I couldn't focus at all and I was disoriented."

"So basically you were being your usual non-morning self?" I teased.

"No! Besides, that was only that one time after a long mission" he replied appearing to not be amused, but I could tell he was smiling on the inside. "Any way, I regained my senses right as Jackal appeared to boast. I knew you would just teleport away as soon as he exploded, so I made my way out while he was busy with you and Sage Org. I barely made it far enough away before he exploded again. Once I was out, I went to the local hospital since none of the response team or reinforcements had arrived. The hospital let me go quickly since there was little to no exterior damage. I also told them I was part of the Council and had to get bac-".

"Wait," I interrupted. "What do you mean no _exterior_ damage? Are you hurt?" I asked worriedly. Lahar gave a sigh as if he was hoping he did not have to tell me this part.

"I'm afraid I won't be much help in the hunt for Tartaros. Because nobody was expecting the first explosion, nobody was prepared, including me. The force of it took me down pretty hard and I hit my head on a piece of the floor," he grimaced, as if just thinking about it hurt. He also brought the ice pack back up to his head.

"So that's why you were unresponsive when I was shaking you, you got a concussion," I said putting the pieces of information together. Lahar gave a slight nod to confirm my suspicions. "How bad is it?"

"Pretty bad. The doctors said there shouldn't be any permanent brain damage, but I can't use magic for a while. It's also especially bad for me because I use enchantments and have to write them out."

"Wait, didn't you use enchantments at the bar last night?" To my dismay, he only looked down slightly and mumbled 'only a little'.

"Lahar! If the doctor said no enchantments, you can't use enchantments! For me or anybody else!"

"I only wanted to help! The other Rune Knights told me that you were crying over Sage Org's grave and went to the bar because you were so upset. I wanted to head over and cheer you up, but you were drunk so I stopped you before you did something really stupid. I didn't know you and Sage Org were so close."

"We weren't. I thought it was your grave because a healer pointed it out to me saying he saw you over there."

"Ohhh. Well I was over there. After I was released from the hospital, I came back to Era to help and find you. When someone told me you went to get information out of Cobra, I thought I could help with the graves. Of course with my concussion, all I could do was put up the white crosses."

"Speaking of helping, what was it they needed help with at Era last night?"

"Oh nothing too serious. Jellal showed up saying he has been trying to take down Tartaros for a while and offered his services. Said he needed to atone for his sins or something."

"Huh, weird. I still don't trust him, but I guess we need as much help as we can get."

"Agreed." We both stood there awkwardly, not knowing what to do next. Suddenly, an idea formed in my head.

"Well… since you have a concussion and I have a hangover, plus you 'returned from the dead'" this earned a slight laugh from Lahar. "I think we both deserve some off time."

"As much as I would love to, don't you think we should help now more than ever? The Council kinda got destroyed, so people will need to know we are still here to protect them."

"Yes I know, but after everything that's happened, I just want to recover from all the drama. Besides, you once said yourself that 'You can't help others if you don't help yourself first'" Lahar gave a sigh and a slight smile.

"Fine, but only for today. After that, you need to get back and help in any way you can. I'll only be in the way and a liability,"

"Don't worry; you will be back ready to kick butt soon enough. In the meantime, you up for some ice cream?" The smile I got in response was all I needed for an answer.

* * *

 **Wow guys, this one is WAY longer than I expected it to be. Oh well, Lahar and Doranbolt deserve it after the explosion at the Era building. Don't forget to leave a review! Cya all later!**


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